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Representative Hoa Nguyen

Oregon State Legislature chronic-absenteeism

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​Legislator PhotoRe​presentative Hòa Nguyễn ​

Democrat - District 48

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1448
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-473, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Rep.HoaNguyen@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/nguyen​

Chief of Staff: 

Sarah Arbuckle (she/her)

Legislative Staff: 

Chris Stuckart (he/him)

APICCO Intern:

Linh Oliver (they/them)​

​"From Kelly Butte to Powell Butte, Barton to Carver."

 
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C​hronic Absenteeism​


Even after the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, chronic absenteeism (defined as missing at least 10% of days in a school year) remains a crisis in Oregon. As an educator, I readily recognize the need to address this crisis in order to keep our students in school and on track for graduation.

During the 2024 interim, I co-chaired the Chronic Absenteeism Workgroup alongside Senator Weber, which investigated the root causes of chronic absenteeism, as well as existing efforts to improve student attendance. Our work together resulted in several policy recommendations, many of which have been carried over as bills in the current session. 

This page will serve as a hub for my work on chronic absenteeism. Here you can find information on all my chronic absenteeism-related bills, as well as various important links and policy updates. I’m looking forward to continuing this valuable work this session!

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Bill Package

The three bills named below have been combined into a single bill package, designed to be a cohesive unit tackling some of the key policy components of chronic absenteeism. This package is housed under HB 3199 — the other two bills have been added to its language, and will be carried forward as one comprehensive bill.


HB 3199 will require the​ Legislative Policy and Research Office (LPRO) to conduct a study on existing efforts to improve school attendance, and submit findings to legislative committees no later than December 1, 2025.​


HB 3202 will direct the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) to put together an advisory committee regarding attendance improvement, especially for students who experience language barriers.​


HB 3206 will direct ODE to review and revise the procedures school districts use to report and respond to student absences. More specifically, ODE will work to standardize the codes that school districts use to categorize student absences, in order to ensure that absence data is consistent across the state.​​


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Other Bills

Listed below are several other bills I’m sponsoring that address chronic absenteeism, in addition to our policy package.​

HB 3218: TAPP Expansion​

HB 3218 ​will direct the Commission on Indian Services (LCIS) and ODE to study opportunities to expand the Tribal Attendance Promising Practices grant program, which supports the attendance of Native students in schools.​​


SB 315 will require ODE to review and make recommendations related to existing rules for the recording of student absences and how school districts respond to student absences.

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SB 456 will provide $6 million to ODE to distribute as grant funds for community-based organizations and education service districts. These grants will be allocated to address the causes of chronic absenteeism.​


SB 953 ​will establish a task force ​to analyze and make recommendations on best practices for supporting children with disabilities through the transition into kindergarten.​


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Updates

  • ​SB 315​ passed through its second chamber on May 14th, and was signed into law on May 22nd. This bill will help standardize and streamline the attendance reporting process, meaning that the data we receive will be more accurate and allow for more effective responses.
  • HB 3218 passed through its second chamber on May 20th, and was signed into law on May 28th. This is a great step towards improving educational outcomes for our Nat​ive students! The study will commence some time after session, with results and recommendations delivered to the legislature by September 2026.​​
  • Our bill package passed out of the Joint Ways & Means Committee, and is up for a vote on the House floor on June 25th. ​It will proceed to the Senate shortly, and will soon be signed into law!​​
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How to Get Involved?

  • ​​​Testify: ​Public testimony is highly valuable to us as legislators — I encourage you to testify on any of these bills that you may feel strongly about!

    • ​​Visit this guide for instructions on registering to testify (in-person or remotely) and submitting written testimony.

    • Visit this page​ for general instructions and tips for testifying.​


  • Subscribe for updates: There are many ways to receive real-time legislative updates, for anyone interested in following the process.
    • You can get updates on specific bills and committees by visiting their individual pages and pressing ‘e-Subscribe’ in the top right corner.​
    • Subscribe to my newsletter and/or follow me on Instagram for regular updates from my office — on bills, events, district news, and more.​